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Anabolic Steroids
National Institute on Drug Abuse
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Synthetic substances related to the male
sex hormones (androgens). They promote growth of skeletal muscle (anabolic
effect) and the development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic
effects), and also have other effects.
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Used by doctors to treat conditions that
occur when the body produces abnormally low amounts of testosterone such as
delayed puberty and some types of impotence, and also to treat body wasting
in patients with AIDS and other diseases.
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Legally available in the United States
only by prescription. Anabolic steroid abusers obtain drugs that have been
made in clandestine laboratories (sometimes with poor quality control
standards), smuggled from other countries, or diverted illegally from U.S.
pharmacies.
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Distinct from steroidal supplements. In
the United States, supplements such as dehydoepiandrosterone (DHEA) and
androstendione (street name Andro) can be purchased legally without a
prescription through many commercial sources including health food stores.
They are often taken because the user believes they have anabolic effects.
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Motivated in most cases by a desire to
build muscles and improve sports performance. Some individuals are
motivated by erroneous perceptions of their own bodies (that is, a mistaken
belief that they look underweight or obese) and others by a desire to
prevent recurrence of physical or sexual attacks they have experienced.
Health consequences associated with anabolic steroid
abuse include...
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In boys and men, reduced
sperm production, shrinking of the testicles, impotence, difficulty or pain
in urinating, baldness, and irreversible breast enlargement
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In girls and women,
development of more masculine characteristics, such as decreased body fate
and breast size, deepening of the voice, excessive growth o body hair, and
loss of scalp hair, as well as clitoral enlargement.
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In males and females of
all ages, potentially fatal liver cysts and liver cancer, blood clotting,
cholesterol changes, and hypertension, each of which can promote heart
attack and stroke; and acne. There is some evidence that anabolic steroid
abuse, especially in high doses, promotes aggression that can manifest
itself as fighting, physical and sexual abuse, armed robbery, and property
crimes such as burglary and vandalism.
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Upon stopping anabolic
steroids, some abusers experience symptoms of depressed mood, fatigue,
restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, headache,
muscle and joint pain, and the desire to take more anabolic steroids.
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